Kingdom Truth - What is the Kingdom of Heaven in the Bible?
Chapter 2, Part 4
The Preparation of the Kingdom
To establish a kingdom, there must be a time of preparation. In Chinese history,which dynasty came into being without preparation? Even the Davidic dynasty, God also used a rather extensive time period to prepare it and then established it. God's Kingdom is also like this. When God created mankind, He desired that man would rule over everything He created. Unfortunately, our first pair of ancestors was deceived by Satan and lost the authority to reign. So God started over to prepare man to reign. This is what Jesus said: "...the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34). During this time period, it is quite clear that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob were all trained and then chosen by God to be members of the personnel of the Kingdom. We hope that one day we will also recline at the table with them (see Matt. 8:11).
So, the church is the Kingdom of God in its preparation period. During preparation, nothing is perfect. Before a building is finished, it is unavoidable that there will be a pile of cement here, a stack of reinforcing steel rods there, everything is messy. Not until the workers have assembled the building materials to complete the building and cleaned up the rubbish will there be a gorgeous building. In the same manner; before the lord returns, it seems impossible that the church will be perfect because she is still in the process of preparation.
What has to be prepared in the Kingdom of Preparation? To establish a kingdom, three ingredients are required. They are: people, land and authority. In the past, India was not a country not because it did not have people or land (it had a large population and a great piece of land), but because it had no authority and could be only a colony! Now that it has independence and the autonomy to rule, it became a large country in the East. In the same way, the Kingdom of Heaven also has to be prepared in these three areas.
Now, what should the church in the preparation period prepare? Is it authority? Before our gracious lord ascended to heaven, He told us, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth!" So the church need not prepare for its authority. Is it land? The Scriptures clearly state that ''The heavens are Thine, the earth also is Thine". And again, 'The heavens are the heavens of the Lord; but the earth He has given to the sons of men." (Pss. 89:11. 115:16) One day, He will create "new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind"! The earth is His! He will make it new and He will prepare it. The church is unable to prepare the land! Then what does the church or in other words, the Kingdom of Preparation need to prepare? It is "people", and in particular, the personnel of the Kingdom which are overcomers qualified to reign with Christ (Rev. 3:21).
In the last days, the believers do not have a clear concept of the church. This is a particular problem of the Chinese Christians who often regard the church as a Buddhist temple! The nonbelievers go to the temple to offer incense and worship the idols at the new and full moon, twice a month. The believers go to church on the first day of every seven days and feel that should be counted as plenty for the Lord! In the end, the goal of the church which is the urgent task of training Kingdom personnel is either completely forgotten or completely unheard of! No wonder the church is wandering in circles in the Wilderness day and night and unable to enter into Canaan! Please remember that the church is God's school and is the center for training Kingdom personnel. If the church had already understood this truth long ago and operated as the training center. and called the brothers and sisters who came to church to be students to received training and withstand testing, the Kingdom of Inheritance that had been prepared for us would have arrived long ago!
Chapter 2, Part 4
Shepherd His Sheep
